Smart home automation devices are being developed and fielded at such a rapid pace that new devices appear on the market practically every day. Because of the proliferation of low-power wireless network and smart phone technologies, it is not uncommon to find home and business owners in possession of smart home devices such as wireless lights, music systems, door locks, thermostats and alarm systems. And wireless white goods are just over the horizon. Based on current trends, it is expected that the average consumer will own as many as five to ten smart home devices in just a few years.
One issue with this proliferation of devices is that many such smart home devices use different communication protocols (e.g., Z-Wave, ZigBee or Insteon) so devices that use different protocols cannot interoperate seamlessly out of the box. In addition, many such devices are configured with different set-up procedures (sometimes called commissioning or provisioning procedures) depending on one or more of: the type of the device, capabilities of the device (e.g., degree of smartness of the device) and/or the particular communication protocol employed by that device. As a result, owners of these devices often face a confusing experience every time they attempt to configure and/or commission a new device. Furthermore, different devices of the same type (e.g., thermostats) can have different capabilities, so users might not have access to expected or desirable product features for a particular type of device depending on the specific device they purchased.
Therefore, it would be desirable to develop user-friendly solutions to address the above-recited issues associated with smart home devices.